One possible path to the House majority for both parties lies through a C-shaped congressional district in northwestern Illinois and its swathes of crop fields, waning manufacturing bases, and scattered urban centers.
A blue district back to the 1980s, the 17th congressional district broke and voted for former President Donald Trump twice, largely due to a high rural turnout, defecting union Democrats, and a sometimes dimmed urban turnout.
Nationwide, it was one of only seven districts that went for Trump while picking a Democrat for Congress in 2020—a rare breed in the increasingly polarized county.
That year, Cheri Bustos, the five-term Democratic incumbent, barely fended off a challenge from Trump-supported Republican Esther King, at four points—the smallest winning margin she ever had….